Reign of Winter (Inactive)

Game Master Just a Mort

Crivens!

Seeing Einar's display, Crummock frowns, and goes into damage control mode.

"Wir sind nicht aus Walsby, aber Nadya hat uns hier als extra Muskel angeheuert, um den Konvoi auf der Rückreise zu verteidigen. Glücklicherweise tat sie es auch - wir begegneten einem riesigen Insekt, das eines der Karawanenmitglieder ernsthaft durcheinander brachte, bevor es uns gelang, es abzunehmen. Hoffentlich ist der Rest der Reise ruhig, und wir können für eine andere Karawane zu verteidigen, um wieder aus hier zu suchen."

Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25.

Assists would be wonderful :-)

Edit: Crummock ninja'd my post still sticking with it I think.
earlier use of the wand
clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

'I will not tell my story to this Faire' Einar stands, glaive still in hand, nodding to Crummock. "Vat my Companion says is true, but." he then glares at the bard, "шумо саволи ман ҷавоб намедиҳад, ман парвое нест барои шумо касб мову шумо ба забони модари сухан ё шумо иблис, ки ширкат Ман ҳамчунон хоҳам уқубат мекунад мебошанд."

Einar is a little jumpy, what with all the fey, so he is not wanting to be overly friendy. Her asking to hear his story is still a sticky spot since his conversation with Cadence. Having said that Einar will not start a fight, but he may storm off.

Edit #2: Ok, going to edit the post a little, to assist with the lie.
aid another:bluff: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

When asked, Mr. Whiskers gets the wand and tries to heal Einar.

UMD: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
UMD: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

UMD: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

Frowning after the wand fizzles, Mr. Whiskers admits "You will need Ziva or Crummock to finish healing you. The wand will not work for me again until tomorrow."

Looks like I was ninjaed by Einar on the healing.

At camp

Mr. Whiskers is wary of the Bard, but does politely clap at the end of her performance.

When Crummock tells his story, Mr. Whiskers says "Wir kommen oft zu Karawanen." I best keep to the truth, but that doesn't mean it can't be misleading.

Aid Bluff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

When asked for his story, he replies "I thought you were the one who would tell us stories."

Nadya nods to Crummock’s statement, ” Ja, ohne ihre Hilfe wären wir alle Mantis Chow geworden.”. She does not sound very convincing.

Bluff assist: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Mierul nods her head, ” Ahhh, ich verstehe. Ja, es muß eine gewaltige Schlacht gewesen sein. Ich wünschte, ich wäre dort, es zu sehen. Caravan Wachen, das ist ein ehrenhafter Beruf.” But she seems to lose interest in the party and continues eating her lunch.

”Ah, Geschichten. Ich könnte Sie eins singen.” She smiles, but the smile does not quite reach her eyes.

”Es waren einmal zwei kleine Schweine.
Sie dachten, sie könnten in die Welt gehen und es groß machen.
Man baute eine Hütte aus Stroh.
Der Wolf blies ihn herunter, und es war nicht mehr.
Die andere baute eine Hütte aus Holz.
Der Wolf hämmerte, und es brach richtig zusammen.
Die beiden kleinen Schweine wurden ganz gegessen.
Nun, wenn sie sich nicht von der Klappe entfernt hätten“

”Wie auch immer, was ist mit deiner Freundin los?” She looks at Einar, aggrieved. ” Jeder würde denken, ich trat auf seinen Schwanz.”

"Danke für Ihre Gastfreundschaft."With that Mierul finishes her food up and leaves. Once she has disappeared from sight, Nadya heaves a sigh of relief. ” Das war ein Spion der Winterhexe. Sie haben überall Augen. Und wir haben es geschafft, Wolle über ihre Augen zu ziehen. Es ist besser, sie zu töten und ihren Körper in den Schnee zu werfen. So konnte sie von der bleichen Turmpatrouille gefunden werden. Auf diese Weise wird der Pale Tower keine Warnung haben.”

The story really needs to be read in English. I'm sorry but I cannot rhyme in both German and English.

Considering Ziva knows 0 of the languages most of this conversation takes place in, I'll just be silent for now I think.

Einar, sitting back down, this time intentionaly closer to Ziva he leans over and whispers, "Our host has said zee devil-fey is a spy for zee pale tower, but killing her vould leave a body for a patrol to find, ya. Do you think ve should follow her?"

Crummock shrugs apologetically.

"Das ist gut, mit dir in einem Kampf zu haben, aber er tendiert dazu, ziemlich mürrisch zu sein. Dennoch ist er der Typ von Kerl, dass ich glücklich bin, meinen Rücken an einem engen Punkt zu beobachten."

Bluff(if required): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25.

Crummock breathes a sigh of relief when the creature disappears from sight.

He then turns to Nadya.

"In diesem Fall sollten wir vielleicht in Bewegung bleiben? Je schneller wir zu unserem Ziel kommen, desto weniger wahrscheinlich sind wir in mehr Spione zu laufen."

Bluff(if required): 1d20+6.

BLUFF?... ;)

Ziva reflects on Einar's information for a moment before shaking her head slightly in disagreement. "No, I think directly following her would be a bad idea. If she's a spy, then she knows the land far better than us and I don't want us triggering suspicion. Personally, I'd rather use the caravan and these people as a cloak to get as close as we can to the Pale Tower, and then strike against it."

Ziv frowns though as a thought occurs to her, looking a little sad. "I might have to send Vernai away from me though for a little while - it makes little sense having her so close to people that were just attacked by a larger version - and it probably stands out enough to raise questions."

Earlier
Mierul sighs,"Yeah, ich nehme an, wenn Sie sich mit Seiner Grouchiness .." and gives Crummock a sympathetic look.

As the party continues towards Walsby, Einar, Crummock, Ziva and Nadya spot a swarm of ravens soaring overhead. The ravens start swooping downwards. ”Verdammt,” Nadya curses. ”Entweder verstecken wir uns unter Planen, oder ich hoffe, dass einige von euch Wege haben, mit den Vögeln umzugehen.”

Party choice – DC 20 stealth with tarp bonus(+5) – everyone must make that check, or a DC 20 handle animal check

Raven swarms as spies? Does this mean we are currently heading for the Gap of Rohan, right under Saruman's nose? ;-)

Crummock does his best to convince the birds that he (and his companions) are utterly harmless.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21.

Crummock pours some of his trail rations on the floor and the ravens flock onto them, oblivious to the convoy, which passes unhindered.

You lose 2 days of rations. I think the last time you had like 17 days of rations for the entire party, so two days is really no loss..

The convoy is forced to set up camp every hour so as to prevent frostbite from occurring. During one of these occassions, Einar, Crummock, Ziva and Nadya hear a pained yowl in the snow. “Siberian tiger, I think. Could you guys take care of the problem before it comes after us?"

Once he is sure that the birds are sated (and well and truly distracted), Crummock hurries to catch up with the rest of the convoy.

Hopefully, there won't be bein' to many more o' these gwrthdyniadau.

Aww it sounds hurt, lets yank the thorn out of its paw and make a friend =]

earlier
Einar nods his head in agreement, with Ziva. "You are right, she vould know zee voulds better zan us, but do not send your friend avay, vee can hide her in zee vagon if vee need to, ya." As the group gets ready to leave, Einar joins the people leading hoping to help protect them.

just a little bit ago
'Blasted birds' Seeing the birds Einar begins to draw his bow, then he stops as he sees Crummock dancing about spreading grain as he twitters at the crows. Shaking his head and putting his bow back. 'Well that did work, I guess that's what counts.'

Now
'A tiger, need to be careful with this one.' Hearing the request to deal with the threat, Einar nods his head, lifting up his glaive. "Ya vee can deal vit it, I have hunted in zee snow before."

do we need a survival roll to find it?
survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Crummock nods.

"Ja, wir können hineinschauen."

He then follows Einar, stopping only to grab some dried meat to (hopefully) tempt the tiger.

Einar finds paw prints in the snow, and follows them into the woods, leading the party towards whimpering sounds coming from a bush. The party finds a young Siberian tiger(Medium sized!), its forepaw caught in a bear trap, whining pitifully.

For later

random encounter: 1d4 ⇒ 4
random encounter: 1d4 ⇒ 4
random encounter: 1d4 ⇒ 2

No random encounters!

'I wonder if Crummock can do his magic with this one.' Einar stops well out of reach of the big cat, "Vat do you zink Crummock? Can you calm it enough to save it, or vould it be kinder to put it down?"

Crummock gingerly makes soothing noises, tosses the dried meat to the tiger, and then carefully tries to remove its paw from the trap.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21.

He then winces, before casting a healing spell upon it...

CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6.

...causing a similar, smaller wound to open up on his left hand.

"Trwy fy ngwaed ydw i'n rhwymo chi, gan y bydd fy ngwaed i chi fod yn hysbys. Gwaed fy ngwaed, am byth."

Paw from trap is Einar's problem

The tiger licks Crummock's hand gratefully as its wounds heal, sitting there, surprisingly calmly waiting to be freed. However, its still stuck in the trap.

As Crummock intones the words in Aklo, something shadowy into the ground forming a black mantle over the tiger briefly, before sinking into the tiger's body.

'Well at least he didn't dance around the cat before he fed it.' Einar watches Crummock calm the cat, getting it to lay calm. Einar quickly looked at the trap, "Give me a moment, I vill be able to open it easier vit out zee armor." Einar quickly takes the armor off, but keeping the cloak on for warmth he carefully opens the trap, freeing the large cat. He then puts his breastplate back on, asking. "So how is zis vone going to do in zee camp?"

takeing ten ;)

Grats everyone, Level up to 3. Crummock, what you gonna call him?

The tiger purrs gratefully at being freed.

As they approach the camp, with the tiger following Crummock like a tame puppy, they are greeted by a flabbergasted Nadya. She rubs her eyes a few times just to confirm what she is seeing. "Er ... sind Sie sicher, dass der Tiger uns nicht alle aufnimmt? Ich habe gehört, dass sie natürlich geborene Mörder sind." She looks nervously at Crummock's latest friend.

Crummock scratches the tiger fondly behind the ear, before responding to Nadya.

"Es yn nicht, was ein Problem. Die Armen und Hungrigen Sache wurde nur verletzt. Ich werde darum kümmern. Es ist ist jung genug Tattoo kann es immer noch, was die richtig ausgebildet."

Nadya looks at Crummock with admiration. "Zuerst die Vögel, dann der Tiger. Gibt es etwas, mit dem du nicht reden kannst?"

Then she switches to common. "We've been travelling this long, but I still don't know your names..."

She gives a sigh. "We're going to have to head to Walsby to camp for the night. We've been out the whole day and the dogs are tired. At least we'll get a good nights rest, and I hope I can hide the shipment before that jerk Volan comes to Walsby looking for it. Its already 3 days late due to bad weather. And I'd hand it over to those cold hearted treacherous b@stards over my dead body."Her blue eyes flash angrily.

The convoy proceeds on, stopping every hour to warm up, and reaches the town of Walsby at dusk. The houses of Walsby are made from drab grey stone, and the roofs covered with a layer of now. The streets are covered with a thick layer of snow. The townsfolk of Walsby look upon the party warily and with distrust, while pointing fingers at the party and whispering among themselves.

"Wer sind diese Ausländer?"
"Werden sie den Zorn der Winterhexen unter uns bringen?"

Nadya whispers, "Sorry, they don't trust outsiders very much. We'd best get to my cabin so we can decide on our next move. I wish I could get Thora buried, but the ground's too hard to dig...it might have to wait."

"And I'd better get you guys proper wintergear."She looks pointedly at Mr Whiskers and Ziva.

Does the party want to follow Nadya, or go around town?

I think we should follow Nadya; it looks like we *really* won't get a welcoming reception from the rest of the town.

Crummock eyes the townsfolk warily, but keeps his thoughts to himself.

They are frightened of the unfamiliar; too often, it can lead to death. I can't be faultin' 'em for that...

"Aye, we would be glad to accompany you. It would be a chance to speak to that friend of yours who knows the Tower, as well."

Nadya leads the party to a stone house, picking up her two boys from her neighbour, Kashka. Her two boys are twins, Orm and Morjoli, aged 5, who each hug one of her legs. She ruffles their hair with a smile and asks them, "Warst du gut?" They both nod their heads. Then she turns to Kashka. "Danke für das Helfen ich halten ein Auge auf ihnen."

Kashka gives Nadya a smile, "Kein Problem, sie waren gut wie Gold."

Nadya leads the party to a cozy log cabin next door. "Now today, we have guests for dinner. Both of you must be on your best behaviour." She tells Orm and Morjoli. They nod solemnly. Then Orm pipes out, "When will big sis be coming back for dinner?" Morjoli adds, "I miss her."Nadya bites her lip but does not reply, instead concentrates on opening log cabin.

"All right. If you need any resupply, I can go to town and help you get it, after dinner. " She proceeds to list the items that the town has for sale.

Base Value 500 gp; Purchase Limit
2,500 gp; Spellcasting 1st
Minor Items +2 studded leather, +1 darkwood
quarterstaff, masterwork shortbow, oil of
protection from evil, potion of feather step,
scroll of goodberry; Medium Items +1 arrow
catching light wooden shield, belt of mighty
constitution +2; Major Items —

"Hatch, are you there? There are some people who would want to talk to you." She calls out to the seemingly appearing empty house. "I'll need to get dinner ready for you lot. Help me keep an eye on Orm and Morjoli, please."She then heads into the kitchen.

Feel free to start appealing to the domovoi. Even if you can't see him.

’A tiger he has trained a tiger, is there any beast he cannot whisper to? I wonder if he will ride it.’ Einar follows Crummock and the cat back to the camp, giving it plenty of space in case it changes its mind.

As Nadya admiringly ask Crummock if he can speak to anything, Einar with a devilish grin interrupts, just after she asks their names. ”I am Einar und zee beast whisperer is Crummock, but, sad to say, he is not able to shpeak to vomen. It is truly unfortunate, ve vere in zis little town on zee other side of zee portal, und zere vas zis barmaid, but no amount of encouragement vould get him to shpeak vit her.” Einar, pleased with his shenanigans, winks at Crummock, walking to the front of the camp letting the others introduce themselves.

Staying at the front of the caravan, Einar notices the reactions of the towns people. ’If they are untrusting at this distance just wait till I get closer.’ He moves back to the rest of the party and says quietly, ”It may be best if vee avoid zee town as much as is possible, ya.” Nodding his head in agreement with Crummock when he agrees to go to the house.”[/b]

’A small house outside of town, a nice place to be able to hunt and fish.’ Einar admires the stone house as they approach it, smiling as she tells the boys to be on their behavior. ’Hatch, that is an odd name.’ Einar approaches Nadya and asks ”Zis Hatch, he lives here, ya? Is he your husband?” Realizing it may be a touchy subject, especially as much as Nadya was flirting with Crummock, he quickly adds, ”Not zat it vould be a problem.”

Talking about Vernai

"If I'm not mistaken, mantis will kill each other. Wouldn't it make sense that our mantis would not suffer another near it?" Mr. Whiskers asks Ziva. "I do not think we need to send it away, but it might make sense to hide it at times."

Very impressive with the handle animal checks, Crummock!

When Nadya asks our names

"Oh, sorry! Please forgive me for not introducing myself. I am called Mr. Whiskers." He looks somewhat embarrassed at the slip in etiquette on his part. He then reaches into his vest and brings out his lemming. "This is Nivean." He allows Nivean to ride on his shoulder a short time, after which Nivean burrows back into Mr. Whiskers vest.

At the house

Mr. Whiskers greets each of the two boys, introducing himself.

"Hatch is a friendly house spirit, Einar." Mr. Whiskers explains. It can likely hear us. Good time to start tempting it out. "Nadya told us about him, how he used to serve at the tower until the cruel witches threw him out for no reason."

Looking around, he continues "If we are lucky, he may accept us as friends." He then calls out "Hatch, may we speak with you? I am Mr. Whiskers." He then calls out the same thing, only this time in Skald.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Crummock shrugs modestly.

"Every living thing can speak; you just need to know how to gwrando."

He then raises an eyebrow when Einar makes his comment.

"Crivens! Given how much gabbin' I been doin' that clearly ain't a problem."

Crummock politely asks Nadya for some milk as an offering to Hatch, and then moves out of earshot of the children.

"Hatch? We would speak with you, as a matter of some urgency. The hag gaeaf did some extremely nasty to wee Thora, and we need your counsel on how to avenge her."

He then goes into great detail about precisely what happened.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22.

"Oh, I see." She actually sounds pleased at Einar's comment about the barmaid. "He seems like a pretty decent sort, honestly."

A shadow passes over Nadya's face when Einar mentions her husband. "My husband, Hjalnek, died 2 years back. Ran into an Ice troll. The villagers brought what they could find left of him back."

Nadya goes into the larder and hands Crummock a saucer of milk. "He's here. You may not see him, but he's here. Good luck." She pets him encouragingly on his shoulder.

The children are very fascinated with with Mr Whiskers. How often do you see a huggable sized rat? They try to give him a hug.

"Orm, Morjoli, come help me clean the extra utensils!" Nadya calls from the kitchen, and the two children finally release Mr Whiskers and go into the kitchen.

That's when the party sees a tabby cat come out from one of the rooms and lap the milk.

Mr Whiskers knowledge nature: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
Ziva's knowledge nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Mr Whiskers recognizes this is the house spirit. In cat shape. It nods solemnly to the party, and after drinking the milk, pushes the saucer to one corner, and goes back into the room. The party follows to find a hairy old man, barely knee high, sitting on the bed.His eyes are sad. Once the party enters, he hops off the bed and closes the door.

"I'm Hatch.I'm more sorry then you can ever imagine. I was the one who taught Thora those jests...we both laughed over it, it was good fun. I never thought she would have repeated them in front of Nazhema..."

"Explaining about the White Tower will take time. I'll do it after Orm and Morjoli are asleep. Don't want them to hear something they shouldn't."

The party comes out for dinner, and are treated to a large pot of Betasuppe, a lemon butter baked salmon and a leg of ham, as well as ample loaves of rye bread.

The party tucks in and is helping Nadya clear up, when they hear a knock on the door. Nadya opens the door, only to find herself confronted with 6 drunk pale tower guards.

In Skald

"Ey, Nadya, we 'erds yous hots, and knows 'good tricks. Cum 'n show us." They leer at her lasciviously and grab her, trying to drag her out of the house. "Let me go you lewd louts!"She screams as she tries to break free.

What would the party want to do?

Crummock casts Cultural Adaptation and moves to address the soldiers (speaking in a perfect local accent), bringing Geist with him.

"Crivens! Calm yourselves! Ye are soldiers, not vagabonds, and your current actions do yourselves, and those ye represent, a great disservice! Let Nadya go!"

Of course, if they decline to acquiesce, Crummock will be perfectly happy to defend Nadya's honor...

Roll intimidate on them

In Skald

"Volan 'aid we can hit any gal we want!He don care!" One of them yells back.

In Skald:

"Then Geist here and I will need to teach you cerlod some manners."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20.

Hopefully, Geist provides an Intimidate bonus ;-)

They blink owlishly at Crummock, noticing for the first time, Geist, then decide that they might be in for some really SERIOUS trouble and run off with their tails tucked behind them. (Figuratively speaking)

"Thanks, Crummock." Nadya thanks Crummock as she rubs her wrist where the Pale Tower Guards had grabbed her. She shakes her head. "They're getting bolder. Like a pack of jackals they are. I'd never think they'd try to grab me in my own house..." She shudders.

After the housekeeping is done, the party gathers in Nadya's bedroom and start the council of war. Hatch explains the layout of the place - there are three levels, and people get around using ice crystal teleporters, and he knows the key phases for them. However, they may have been changed ever since he got kicked out. Hatch warns the party that that it would not be wise to rob the vaults of the Pale Tower as there is a curse there to keep out thieves. And one of the items in there is cursed as well.

Nadya passes the party the local cold weather clothing. (Cold weather outfits like hers) Mr Whiskers manages to fit into one of Thora's winter jackets.

Nadya eyes Ziva speculatively, then passes her a pair of brown snowshoes."Good thing both of us have the same shoe size." She gives a sigh and takes out a box, containing a pair of sky blue snowshoes and passes them to Mr Whiskers."I wanted to give these to Thora as a Christmas present." She gives Mr Whiskers a sad smile, "Go on, Thora would have wanted you to have them."

To Crummock, she bestows the most wondrous gift of all - her own snow shoes. "Thanks. For all the help you've given. If there's anything I can do to repay you, just ask." She clasps Crummock's hand gratefully.

I'll set up the map when I get to office
Also, both Hatch and Nadya will be going with you on the assault on the Pale Tower

Crummock glares after the soldiers until they are well and truly out of sight.

In Skald:

"Good riddance to bad rubbish!"

Back inside the house, he listens attentively to Hatch's description of what is inside the Tower, and pays heed to his warning about the curse.

In Skald:

"I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

When she brings out her gifts, and makes her offer, Crummock smiles sadly at Nadya.

"Thank-you for all that ye have done for us, offering hospitality to strangers. I just wish that we had come sooner, that we might have prevented more of the heartache that ye be facin'."

He then claps her hand tenderly.

"I will be sure to put these shoes to good use, as we take vengeance for the evils the hag gaeaf have inflicted upon ye and yours. If there be any more that we can do for ye, please, let me know."

Mr. Whiskers returns the two boy's hugs, then shows off Nivean to them.

He does a double-take when he sees the cat, then quickly calms down. Oh, good! It is the house spirit, not a real cat! He allows the boys to gently pet Nivean and feed her. He is careful to keep himself between Nivean and Crummock's new pet at all times.

When the boys are called away, Mr. Whiskers puts Nivean back in her vest-pocket.

At dinner, Mr. Whiskers thanks Nadya for the meal and complements the two boys on helping with the chores.

When the soldiers try to pull Nadya out the door, Mr. Whiskers hand goes to his spell pouch. Seeing that Crummock appears to have it handled, he moves out of sight until the soldiers are gone.

Once they are gone, he says to Nadya "The men are over-confident and abuse their power. It is not wise to abuse power -- especially when it is borrowed from another."

When Hatch mentions the curse, Mr. Whiskers asks "Are there likely to be other curses of which we must be wary, or were they only used on the vaults?"

Massive Info dump inc...

Please see slides 30 and 31 for layout of pale tower
Hatch knows teleporter phase for Q5, Q8, Q15 and Q17.
Q5 phase: “A gathering within the hall, take one, take us all.”
Q5 leads to Q8.
Q8 leads to Q5.
Q8 phase: ”Spiral Downward to the ground, every ounce and ever pound”
Q15 leads to Q17
Q15 phase: “Take wing, soar and fly, let me view the winter sky”
Q17 leads to Q15
Q 17 phase: “Down a level, to the halls, leave this cage without walls.”
Q1 = Outer Gate
Q2 = Courtyard
Q3 = Entrance Hall
Q4 = Privies
Q5 = Ice Crystal Teleporters to Q 7
Q6 = North Barracks
Q7 = South Barracks
Q8 = Dining Hall
Q9 = Kitchen
Q10 = Bedroom
Q11= Guest Bedroom
Q12= Library
Q13= Mirrored Hall, and teleporter to Q 20 (Hatch doesn’t know the phase)
Q14 = Conservatory
Q15 = Ice Crystal Telporter to Q 17
Q16 = Hestrig’s Bedroom
Q17 = Aerie
Q18 = Jairess’s Bedroom
Q19= Storeroom
Q20= Ritual Chamber

Do you have any questions you want to ask Hatch? Or I can move you to the next morning.

"I wouldn't eat anything from the kitchen." Hatch replies. "The Spriggan cook has a mean streak to him."

If he can tell us about the people/monsters stationed within the tower, that would be helpful :-)

Other than that, happy to move on.

He can tell you about Jairess and Hestrig, but not where the people/monsters are. But you need to ask him, in character.

Pointing to the ritual chamber, Mr. Whiskers asks "Am I correct in thinking this is where we will have to go in order to destroy the portals?"

Pointing to the library, he asks "Are we likely to find anything here that might tell us how to do that?"

Looking to Hatch, Mr. Whiskers asks "How loyal are the soldiers to the leaders? What are their names again?"

Still analyzing the map.

How often do you see a huggable sized rat?

More often than one would think…

’Ah so that’s what a domovoi is.’ Shrugging his shoulders he leans over to Mister Whiskers, Zanks, I knew he vorked zere but didn’t know zat’s vat a domovoi vas. Ve did not have zem so I didn’t know zee vord.” Einar watches as Crummock interacts with the young woman, a little disappointed when all that came for the cream was a cat. ’Ah so the domovoi is a fey that can change shape.’ learning the true nature of the spirit, Einar watches and listens carefully.

When the dinner is served Einar helps himself to several servings from the large pot of Betasuppe, Sopping it up with the rye bread. ’Zee soup is Delicious, und zee salmon vit lemon is a rare treat, ya!” Einar, using the last end from the loaf to clean out his bowl when he hears the knock on the door.

’I have placed my glaive in the rack,I cannot get to it, I will move near the door where they do not see me.’ Quickly moving to the wall near the door. Einar stands just out of the sight from anyone outside, but where he could see Crummock and Geist. ’That is a good accent.’ Staying alert as Crummock convinces the men that they want to be elsewhere. Nodding in agreement as Crummock declares ‘good riddance.’

now
Smiling as Nadya thanks Crummock, Einar watches as she passes out gifts to her new friends. Thanking her as she provides an old coat and hat that belonged to her husband.

Settling in as the fey explains the castle, Einars ears perk up when the vault is mentioned. Saving his question till the end. ”Herr Hatch, how many guards are zere und how are zey armed und armored? Also do zee go around alone or in pairs?” Smiling slightly and making a general motion the direction of his own face. ”Und can you provide more information about zee vault? Zome of us are cursed already, vee may as vell have zee vealth it may provide. “

"I don't know anything about magic portals and stuff...just that Radosek told me never to enter the room."Hatch replies.

”The soldiers are fanatically loyal to their leaders. Its only though Radosek and Nazhema do they have the power to do whatever they want, and oppress the townsfolk.” Hatch scowls.

”The library? Yeah it’d be useful. There are books of all kinds there. Hestrig hangs out there pretty much all the time. Reading about some dragon ancestor or something. She’s not a bad sort, if you need to reach a bookshelf, she’s always ready to give you a lift. If you can get her out of her books, that is. A cup of warm cocoa helps with that.”

”There are three guards on the battlements at all times of the day, the barracks combined usually house another ten. They patrol in pairs and they use longswords and chainshirts.”

The moment Hatch hears Einar wanting to loot the vault, he shakes his head in distress, ”No, no! I don’t want any more good people to get hurt because of something I said! And you’re good people!”He utters tearfully.

"Actually, Hestrig is the captain of the guard, but she never puts on airs and spends most of the time in the library. Yana, that stuck up b*tch has been running the tower's daily security." Hatch grumbles.

Nadya clasps her other hand onto Crummock's hand. "You've got a really good heart."A genuine smile appears on her lips, then it fades away at her next words. "Once we've dealt with the Pale Tower, we'll need to bury Thora..."

"I know this region well. Besides the Pale tower, are there any places you are looking for?"Nadya offers, trying to change the gloomy subject.

To Einar

"Its been two years. I still miss him sometimes."She states simply.

"I'm glad you liked the food. The good news about lemons is they store well. And I have Kellid friends. And yes, Crummock is a good man." She smiles when she says that.

To Mr Whiskers

"Yes, it is because of the hold that the winter witches have over us, do her lackeys dare to treat us like cattle." She snarls.